Motherhood is a Blessing. Right?

I love my kids. I really do.

But somedays (like every morning at 8am) they can drive me absolutely mad. Cuckoo.
Nutso.

And, really, when I say "they", I mean Pea. (I'm just trying to stay fair and not single one out, but I can't).

My daughter is a sight to behold in the mornings. Seriously, I contemplate giving HER some coffee to start her morning, because its just that bad.

Don't get me wrong - she is a lovely, happy little girl. I knwo this, because she can turn that temper OFF just as quickly as she turns it on, and then she is the sweetest thing outside of a candy store. Like a big, squishy, huggy lump of chocolate.

Mmmmm.....chocolate.....

Sorry. (Focus......)

So dealing with tantrums means striking a balance of trying not to lose my temper and instead see the humor in the situation - without laughing. Because that would make her go through the ceiling, and then she gets completely unmanageable!

You tell me how difficult this would be....

• when your daughter is biting her underpants (in hand, not while wearing them, although that would be even funnier) and then throwing them against the wall, while yelling "these are STUPID! Throw them AWAY"
• when she's lying naked in the middle of her hot pink furry area rug, rolling around yelling "I am NOT getting dwessed and I am NOT going to school"
• when she is sitting on the bottom step, arms crossed, bottom lip stuck out far enough to land a small bird on, one shoe on, one shoe against the opposite wall where she has thrown it after yelling "I'm NOT going to school"

The only reason I can keep from laughing is because I'm seriously pissed at the same time.

Since I know that the minute we pull into the car park by school, she'll be bouncing out of the car, yelling hello to her friends and screeching their names, and running into school, happpy to be there.

I'm told that they see her as a happy, confident little girl - one who clearly knows her mind.

So I won't take it personally.

But, believe me, while I know that it is a blessing to have these two wonderful kids and get to experience everything through their eyes, there are days that it feels less like a blessing and more like penance, for every moment of grief we ever gave our parents.

And for that, Mom and Dad, I am truly, really sorry.